Big and exciting changes are ahead!
2023 is our 85th Season! We hope you will join us to celebrate our Sapphire Anniversary in our exciting new home! Mountain Theatre Company (MTC) is now the resident professional theatre company at the Highlands Performing Arts Center (HPAC). We will kick off the big move this spring and be ready to open Jersey Boys, our first show of the season, in June on the HPAC stage. We will, of course, miss many things about The Highlands Playhouse, as it was our theatre company's home for over 80 years. We will miss the charm and history of the building, but those elements will go on to live in the community in new ways. And you can rest assured that we are bringing every ounce of the legacy we built at the Playhouse with us to the HPAC! We wish to extend our appreciation to the Town of Highlands for generously allowing us to call The Highlands Playhouse home since 1938. We look forward to this historic landmark serving our community for future generations in new ways. We are overwhelmingly excited about this move to the beautiful new space at the HPAC. While the new theater is moderately larger, it is still an intimate performance space, which we know our audiences will value. They will also appreciate comfortable new seats, ample parking, a large lobby which will be comfortable no matter the weather or season, and a state-of-the-art performance space. This move will allow us to grow and improve our productions, our staff, and our organization in all sorts of exciting new ways. We know the best is yet to come for Mountain Theatre Company, and this move is just the beginning! As you can see, we have a lot to celebrate this year, and we hope you'll join us. Our ROCKIN' 2023 season is gonna be a good time! See you there!
Timeline of Move
Winter: MTC will launch our national audition tour to cast our 2023 Season! MTC staff will be on the road through much of February and early March. Spring: The move to the HPAC begins! All MTC equipment will begin moving to the PAC. Late Spring: MTC Administration offices expected to be up and running at the HPAC. June 6: Rehearsals for Jersey Boys, our first production of 2023, begin. June 23: Opening night of Jersey Boys will open at the HPAC, kicking off our 2023 Mainstage Season!
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Mountain Theatre Company be showing movies this year? We have donated our film screening and projection equipment to the Highlands PAC. As the HPAC continues to work through the logistics of showing movies in the Martin-Lipscomb Theater, please visit the HPAC website for updates on their program offerings. I am a donor to MTC and the HPAC. Do all donations now go to the same place? Mountain Theatre Company and the Highlands Performing Arts Center are two separate nonprofit institutions with very different missions and funding requirements. Consequently, a donation made to one organization goes to fund the mission of that organization and not the other. You may be wondering, “Which organization should I support?” The simple answer is: BOTH! Mountain Theatre Company and the Highlands Performing Arts Center are both vital nonprofit organizations supporting the performing arts in our community! And though we are different organizations with different goals and missions, we will continue to rely heavily on each other’s success moving forward. You will find that each organization is supportive of the other in various and meaningful ways throughout each other's seasons. I am a Sponsor for the HPAC. Does that give me access to MTC Sponsor benefits? MTC Sponsors receive MTC benefits, and HPAC Sponsors receive HPAC benefits. These sponsorships remain different, as Mountain Theatre Company and the HPAC remain two separate nonprofit organizations. You can find more information about MTC Sponsorship and support here. So, what is the difference between Mountain Theatre Company and the Highlands Performing Arts Center if you are all in one place now? All Mountain Theatre Company programming that you see on stage is created and fully produced by our theatre company. That means we cast and design all shows and hire professional actors, technicians, and designers each season. The Highlands Performing Arts Center is a venue for the performing arts. They book individual events to perform at their facility that are created and produced by other artistic companies. Mountain Theatre Company is the only resident professional theatre company performing at the HPAC each season. Other resident companies at the HPAC include the Highlands Cashiers Players community theatre and the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival. The easiest way to think of this is that MTC is a theatre company. The HPAC is a venue. Remember your old English lesson: theatre spelled with an "re" refers to the art form, and theater spelled with an "er" refers to a building. Mountain Theatre Company is the art form, and the Highlands Performing Arts Center is the building!
You can find all sorts of additional information on our website!